Got my Ticket Outta Here!

Looks like after every time I post, a couple new things come up the next few days. This time it was payments made out to housing, week long orientation, plane ticket and airport pickup. 

My passport came in the mail last week and it has a UK entry clearance stamped on it: 

With THIS I was able to get through everything else I needed to. Here is the run down guys:

Housing: I had to make a housing deposit by last Friday, 16 Aug, and was waiting on my Charles Swab card that I was expecting it to arrive by then. Since it did not come until after the deadline, I went ahead and paid for housing and everything else that goes into it with a different card. It was a relief having finished the deposit for there were couple details I had to go through carefully.

New Card: My new bank account I had opened up this month sent me a debit card via mail. I will use it to pay for anything that the school needs to charge me, bank transactions and personal expenses. It is nice that I won't be charged with international fees when I use British ATMs.

Plane Ticket: I know the exact times I will be leaving the States and arriving in England.

My flight leaves from JFK, arrives in London and then I take another plane to the Manchester airport. Leaving 14 Sept, at 7:45PM and will eventually arrive in Manchester on 15 Sept, at 10:30AM. Ticket price was not bad at all from Expedia, other airlines will charge you more directly! 

Meet & Greet: I will get picked up at the MAN airport by representatives from Sheffield for some cost, which is cheaper than an hour cab ride to Sheffield. They will be able to take me to Stephenson Hall in Endcliff where I will be staying at for the Residential Orientation Programme.

Orientation: From 15^th September 2013 – 21^st September 2013 

This orientation is the week prior to Intro Week, the main arrivals period, where I will get a chance to meet new students like myself and get to know Sheffield prior to classes beginning. This is very exciting because of what's included! More on that when I arrive ;-)

Glasses: This last one is for myself really, I am so happy with my new glasses. My new look with my confidence is ready to take on the U.K. B-)  

See you on my next post!~

VISA, Housing, Banks and More!

Greetings to my blog followers and readers,

I finally got my Visa to study in the UK for the year! I received an email about it today, and did not realize this because I was trying to figure out my housing deposit situation. Last Friday, I received my Room Contract! I now know where I will be staying, with an address and everything! Woot!

The email read:
Residence Contract- 42 Weeks New Student.
Accommodation: Room 2, being a single furnished en-suite study bedroom in Endcliffe Village.
Residence: Apartment C3 in Millstone Apartments.
Etc...

This means I have to put a deposit down and link it up to my bank account. Which brings me to my next big news: I opened up a bank account that won't charge me internationally and can use to pay to Sheffield! Now with that I have to figure out how to make sure I have my deposit and payment by this Friday. This is giving me a headache because under student payments I am considered an Overseas Student and do not have a British Bank Account, so I have to go through a different method in order to pay. Hopefully UB's Study Abroad Office can help me out again. My advisor back in Buffalo is the best, she has helped me out so much and does her job really well.
Once I set up housing payments and all that "fun" stuff (yeah right....) that goes with it, I will be able to finish off Pre-registration online. Uploading my passport and newly issued Visa to the site.

Phew, that was a lot in a span of 7 days, especially with everything coming in around the weekend. I just hope this process turns out smoothly because I get anxious with all this coming at me at once :S
My parents help with the stress because we are able to look at the forms and documents together, not sure what I'd do without their help! Thanks guys ^^!

Lastly, I just got a new digital SLR camera that I am sooooooo excited to familiarize myself with before I takeoff. It's a Canon Rebel 3Ti with the regular 18-55mm lens AND a 55-250mm lens (can you say closeup much?!). Till next time, thanks for reading!~

Visa

Today I got an email from the consulate in NYC stating that they have received my Visa application and that they will process my documents in a little over a week. This is exciting news because once I have that, I can book my flight for Sept 14th!

Last week or so, I had already completed my biometric appointment which is basically getting finger prints scanned and a photo taken. This was done at a local branch of the NYS Department of Homeland Security, so that was one of the last documents I needed to mail out. Next I would be able to complete my pre-registration profile, I cannot do that now without being issued a UK Visa by the British consulate, afterwards I will take care of my approved courses. Things are moving pretty quickly and I almost have one more month left!

The next few weeks will consist of getting my room contact, which I submitted my accommodation file to Sheffield, and then putting down a deposit for housing. Where I want to live is in Endcliffe Village, but more on that on my next post about housing. Thanks for reading. :)

This is a picture of Endcliffe Village!

First Blog Post

Hello and welcome to my blog! My New Home in Sheffield is my personal blog that I will be sharing with my friends and family so y'all can follow me for the year as I take on the United Kingdom! Wooot! I am so excited to just get there already but I still have to get my Visa. Yeah you know, the important mother of all documents that will allow me to travel and stay in the UK. Without a student visa, I won't be allowed in the country so I need to get everything in order. Time is ticking....

I am applying for a Tier IV (it's what its called, don't worry bout it) Student Visa as we speak and I need to get supporting documents to then send to the consulate in NY. I do not have a plane ticket booked yet, nor do I have housing and all the other fun stuff I have to do this month.... I had my biometrics done yesterday with fingerprints scanned and my picture taken, if you care to hear about that. Anywho,  this process is stressful and everything has to go according to plan. My official UB transcript came in the mail today, I think, and the UB Financial Aid Letter has to arrive real soon so I can mail everything out. But I am not worried, I "Keep Calm and Carry On" as the days get closer to my departure day.

Well that's it for today, hopefully I can get people to actually sit down and read this at some point. Im doing this for myself and everybody back home that I love and will miss. Ok enjoy guys, I'll keep this blog up-to-date on my life. Take care!